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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Media Coverage of Age, Gender, And ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: MEDIA COVERAGE OF AGE, GENDER, AND ETHNICITY IN THE 116TH CONGRESS Blanca E. Reyes Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2020 APPROVED: Tracy Everbach, Committee Chair Newly Paul, Committee Member Gwen Nisbett, Committee Member Koji Fuse, Director of Graduate Studies in the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism Andrea Miller, Director of the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism and Dean of the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism Tamara L. Brown, Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Reyes, Blanca E. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Media Coverage of Age, Gender, and Ethnicity in the 116th Congress. Master of Arts (Journalism), December 2020, 55 pp., references, 74 titles. This study focuses on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th Congressional District, and how news media portray her based on her gender, age, and ethnicity, which still play essential roles in the political system in the United States. The analysis of previous academic research, newspaper articles from the New York Times and the Washington Post (June 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) and framing and feminist theories are used to evaluate coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The newspaper stories are examined based on the framing of traits including being the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, being Latina, and being one the most progressive politicians in the Congress. The main objective of this study is to shed light on a topic that at this moment in time is more relevant than ever because the 116th Congress has the highest number of women and women of color in U.S. history. I examine media coverage that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez receives for stereotypical frames, so that, overall, all women running or holding public office may receive unbiased and more balanced media coverage. This study also intends to hold media outlets accountable for the way they portray different candidates because it has a significant influence on the voting population. Copyright 2020 by Blanca E. Reyes ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Tracy Everbach for her mentoring, immense help and encouragement throughout all this time. I am also thankful to Dr. Newly Paul and Dr. Gwen Nisbett for their constructive critique, contribution, and support during this research process. I would also like to thank my son Christopher Reyes, my mother and my friends who are like family for their unconditional love and support. Finally, I want to say thank you to the Mayborn School of Journalism Faculty and staff for helping me getting knowledge and resources to make this dream a reality. I had the most amazing time at the University of North Texas. Words will never be enough to express my gratitude. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION............................................... 1 Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? .................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW: WOMEN POLITICAL CANDIDATES AND FEMALE PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN MEDIA ................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................... 20 Framing Theory ................................................................................................................ 20 Feminist Theory ................................................................................................................ 24 Intersectionality Theory .................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 4. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 31 Thematic Analysis ............................................................................................................ 31 Procedure .......................................................................................................................... 32 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 37 Age .................................................................................................................................... 37 Ethnicity/Race ................................................................................................................... 38 Gender ............................................................................................................................... 41 Tone .................................................................................................................................. 42 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION ................................................................... 44 Research Question 1 ......................................................................................................... 44 Research Question 2 ......................................................................................................... 46 Research Question 3 ......................................................................................................... 47 Limitations and Future Studies ......................................................................................... 49 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 50 iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION In July 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency opened an internal investigation after being informed about some images posted on a secret Facebook page called “I’m 10-15.” The explicit images included a photo illustration of President Donald Trump sexually assaulting Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York’s 14th Congressional District. Another illustration portrayed her “engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant.” The post also included sarcastic comments about the deaths of migrants in custody of the Border Patrol in Weslaco, Texas. At that time, the group had 9,500 members and consisted of current and former Border Patrol agents (Thompson & Lind, 2019, para. 1, 3). These vile attacks on Ocasio-Cortez demonstrate resistance to women, especially women of color, gaining power in the United States. Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest person ever elected to Congress and is Latina of Puerto Rican descent. Unquestionably, women have gained ground in politics in recent decades. Furthermore, in the most recent elections, the increase of women in the House of Representatives and Congress was a victory for diversity (Desilver, 2018, para. 1). One hundred and two women, the highest number in U.S. history, serve in the current House of Representatives. Thirty-five women, representing more than one-third of those women, were elected for the first time in the 2018 midterm elections (Desilver, 2018, para. 2). Furthermore, the 116th Congress has the highest number of women ever. One hundred and twenty-six female politicians are currently serving, of which 47 percent of those are women of color. “In addition, a Black woman, a Latina, an Asian Pacific Islander, and a Caribbean American woman serve as Delegates to the House from Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, respectively” (Women of Color in Elective Office, 2019, para. 1). Out of 1 the 535 members of the Congress, 8.8 percent is constituted by women of color (Women of Color in Elective Office, 2019). This may seem like an outstanding victory for women in politics and the general female population. However, previous research shows that media scrutiny is more severe and unfavorable for female politicians and candidates than for their male counterparts (Ward, 2017, p. 44). Conroy, Oliver, and Breckenridge (2015) suggest that the main difference is that those female candidates receive more coverage in superficial topics like their physical appearance and family life than male candidates. This type of coverage makes women running for office appear less earnest and trustworthy (p. 3). In addition to these barriers, the combined effect of ethnicity and gender represents a prevalent “double disadvantage” for minority women (Ward, 2016, p. 320). Cuklanz (2016) suggests that there is not enough research how traits such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, or country of origin intersect with gender to generate certain styles of coverage in politics (p. 4). However, the difference is even more prominent when women are running for executive offices than when they are running for legislative offices. Female politicians at the executive level receive more coverage focused on their appearance, personality, family, and they are even sexually objectified (Conroy et al., 2015, p. 3). This disparity is based on the traditional association of executive offices with traits more readily attributed to men, such as leadership, competitiveness, and
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